The Spaniard suffered defeat to Sao Paulo while in charge of Liverpool seven years ago in a game his side had dominated.

Chelsea wasted several first-half opportunities today, leading only 1-0 through Juan Mata.

"You have to take your chances," said Benítez, who watched his players produce a three-minute second-half blitz to kill the contest through Fernando Torres and a Darvin Chavez own goal before Aldo de Nigris' stoppage-time consolation.

Three matches without a win have now been followed by a hat-trick of victories by the man who still could not escape the ire of Chelsea fans, despite being so far from home.

"Now the team knows what we want to do," he said.

"They have more confidence and are enjoying their football a bit. We still need more time to keep improving."

Chelsea's upturn in fortunes has corresponded precisely with that of Torres, who scored for a third successive match today for the first time in his Stamford Bridge career.

"He's a bit sharper, has more confidence and the team's playing well," said Benítez, who admitted Torres could have done better with other chances that came his way.

"It's a run, and that's good for him and good for us. Hopefully it will continue.

"If we continue creating chances, he'll carry on scoring.

"We haven't done too much differently. We've analysed his movement and fitness, but it's not been a massive difference.

"He has more confidence so it's easier for him when the team creates a chance to score.

"And the team is creating more chances, which means he'll have more opportunities to score."